Centrifugal machine



HIHHH I H E. ROBERTS CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed Nov. 22, 1926 Nov. 5,1929.

Patented Nov. 5, 192.9

m nt? EUGENE nosnnrs, or nnw YORK, is. Y.,

senor. To THE wns'rnniv STATES MACHINE COMPANY OF SALT LAKE CITY,UTAI-IQA'CORPORATION' OE -UTAH cnirrnrrnesn MAonrnE i:

Application filed November 22, less. SrialNo: 149382;. l

I This invention relates to centrifugal machines of the suspendedgyratory type, and is i ;ended,to provide a construction and arrangementwhich is simple and economical to construct, is easily dismounted foraccess to all the parts, any of which may be readreplaced with theniinumum lossof time 1 the use of the machine and of labor in makingthereplacement. v th these and other objects in viewtheinvention'comprises, generally speaking, a construction andarrangenient embracing a ball-head suspensionquill carrying upper andlower spaced ball-bearing elements below its center of gyration, incombination with a centrally disposed basketsha'jt extending inside saidquill and supported by said ball-bearii'lg elements against l thrust andlateral stresses, and driving means for re ating said basket-shaftlocated in the equatorial plane of said suspensionbail member.

These and other features of the invention will be set fo in thefollowing specification and Will U8 defined in the claims heretoannexed.

in the accompa y 'awings: 4 Figure 1 she vs a verti .l central sectionof a .centrifug 1 machine assembled and suspended from its overheadhanger, the lower portion of the basket shaft and basket being brokenaway to permit illustration on a large scale.

Figure 2 is a detail view showing in plan a basket-shaft driving memberin its relation to-its corresponding coupling member, the latter beingshown in section on the equatorial plane of the suspension ball. v

In the practice of this invention, according to the specific formillustrated in the drawin 's, I employ a basket-shaft 1, to whose lowerend is secured the usual centrifugal basket, such as is used in sugarmills or the like for extracting liquid content from the solid grains orcrystals.

The centrifugal itself 1s suspended from an overhead frame-work A, towhich is secureda hollow annular suspension hanger 10 of novelconstruction.

.As ,shown, this suspension hanger comprises a'fianged cylinder orannulus with an open bottomv to which issecured an annular centrifugalsupporting member 11, provided at its upper end with an inwardlyprojectingilange 11 and having at its lower end an outwardly projectingattaching flange 11 formed with a centralizing shoulder fitting into theopen bot-tom of the hangerlO, and secured thereto by bolts or' the likeso asto form, inetlect, a; detachable part of the fixed hanger. Thesocket fmember-, which forms thedirect support of ,the centrifugal,comprises .an annular member I12 provided with a spherically, curved-interior seat for the reception of the suspension-ball. of. thecentrifugal machinequill and having, atits low-. er end, an outwardlyprojecting attaching flange 1%, adapted to be bolted into the lower endof the removable supporting member 11. I

The central baskeeshaft, comprising lower section 1 and upper section 1,secured together in axial alignment by flanged or other connections,extends through the central bore of a quill or tubular suspension member4 which, near its upper end,flis provided with a spherically curvedexternal ball 4!, forming a suspension head adapted to be seated in thesocket member'12 of the hanger, thereby i'orming auniversal suspensionjoint to permit gyration of thejquill against a yielding centralizingresistance afforded by an annular-elastic or compressible buffer 5,interposed between the quill and the surrounding member of the fixedhanger. It will be seen that as the socket member 12 is forced upward byits attaching screws 12", against the underside of the ball of thequill, it will compress the inserted butter in the annular pocket formedby the top face of the ball, the overhanging flange 11 and the inner andouter confining Walls between which it is placed, the degree ofcompression depending upon the tightening of the attaching bolts orscrews- 12". The quill is preferably held against rotation withoutinterfering with its gyration by means of a projecting pin 13, looselyengaging stops or lugs 14, on the fixed socket member 12. c

In order to drive the centrifugal basketshaft from an overhead alignedshaft 15,

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of a. coupling member 9 thatvis secured to the non-gyratory overheaddrive-shaft 15.

To sustain the axial thrust of thecentrifugal basket and its shaft, aswell as the side stresses, 1 provide an upper ball-bearing element 16and a lower ball-bearing element 17 in this case the upper bearinghaving its races deeply cut'so as to sustain axial thrust either up ordown as well as the radial or side wise pressure, while preferably thelower bearing'l'z' has its races less deeply cut merely to serve as aradialbearing. Both upper and lowerbearing elements are firmly securedto thequillin a-definiteor fixed spaced rela-' tion which, in'this case,is efi'ectedbymounting the inner ring or race of the upper hearingagainst a slight overhanging shoulder of the quilL then passing-aspacing sleeve 18 over the lower end of the quill, against which thelower bearing element is placed'and secured by means of a fastening ring19 screwed on the lowerendof the quill.

In the form shown an external annular casing or hollow head 6 is securedto the flanged portion of the basket-shaft just below the lower end ofthe quill and extends upward so as to engage the exterior races of thebearing-ball elements. A flanged collar or cap 7 is secured to the upper.end of this casin g so that the outer ball-race of the upper bearing isclamped firmly between the upper end of the hollow casing or head andthe inwardly projecting overhanging cap member, which latter receivesand supports the downward thrust of the load. As there can be no axialmovement of either the inner or the outer race of the upper bearingelement, the shaft is rotatably supported without possibility of axialmovement. Furthermore, since the annular buffer is squeezed between thehorizontal faces of the quill ball and of the overhanging flange 11, aswell as between the quill and the surrounding hanger element, the quillis thereby held against lifting from-its seat and a very smooth runningmachine, free from any pounding or chattering of the bearings, isprovided.

Secured to the upper end of the casing 6 is a pulley 20 which projectsupward so as to surround the center of gyration. The main element of thehanger is provided with vertically bored lugs 10- and 10", to formbearing supports for the vertical spindles of expansible brake shoes, ofa well-known type, which are not illustrated herein as they do not formpart of this invention. The exterior surface 01"" this pulley isconstructed to receive a driving belt in case it is desired to operatethe machine as a belt-driven machine which can be done without in anyway attesting the brake mechanism. This arrangement and utilization ofthe brake pulley makes possible the conversion of the machine from adirect connected overhead motordrive to ya belt-drive, the machine beingdesigned to function with equal facility with one driving means or theother.

As shown at the lower portion of the pulley is provided with hand-holdswhich not only admit air for the cooling of the interior brake surfaceof the pulley, but also afi ord access to the bolts which secure theremovable hanger element 1.1 to the main body 10 of he hanger. It willbe observed that the coupling member 8 is dimensioned so as to readilypass through the bottom opening of the hanger when the attaching bolts,secured to the supporting member 11, are released through thehand-holds, thereby permitting the demounting of the entire centrifugaland also its gyratory supporting ball-quill without rendering necessaryto get access to the parts above the hanger, which would, in many cases,necessitate the removal of the overhead driving motor.

' By arranging the parts so that the driving element or connection liesin the equatorial plane of the center of gyration, there is completeavoidance of any side stresses at the plane of drive tending tointerfere with the gyration ot the basket-shaft or tending to lift thesuspension clear from its seat.

lVhat I claim is 1. An overhead suspension for a centrifugal embracing ahollow suspension-haneer adapted to be secured to a supporting frame.and an interiorly disposed butler-confining member secured to andprojecting upwardly from the bottom of the hanger to overhang aninserted buffer, and a downwardly removable socket member adjustablysecured to the said butler-confining member to form a seat for the ballportion of a gyratory suspension element and by its adjustment tocompress an inserted buffer between the suspension element and thebutter-confining member of the hanger.

2. An overhead suspension for a gyrat-ory centrifugal embracing a hollowhanger open at its bottom, an interiorly disposed buffercontainingmember removably secured to the lower end of said hollow hanger, asocket member detachably secured to said buffercontaining member frombelow, a gyratory suspension element seated in said socket member forsupport, and a centralizing butter compressed between thebutter-containing member and the gyratory element by the socket member.

3. An overhead suspension for a gyratory centrifugal embracing incombination a hollow suspension-hanger having a downwardly removablesocket member and-a buffer com.- pressing member, one of which isadjustably secured to the other to vary the compression of an interposedbuffer, a gyratory suspen hanger, a gyratory sleeve suspended in saidhanger in engagement with a yielding centralizing buffer, a sleevesupporting socket member and a bufier confining member secured to saidhanger from beneath by detachable connections, a rotary basket shaftprojecting up through said sleeve, a drive coupling member secured tothe upper end of said shaft and projecting down between said hanger andsaid sleeve to the level of the center of gyration substantially asdescribed.

5. In a suspended gyratory centrifugal, the combination of anon-rotating gyratory suspension sleeve supported on a ball and socketjoint to gyrate against yielding centralizing resistance, upper andlower radial ball bearing elements mounted in spaced relation around theexterior of said sleeve below the ball and socket joint, a rotary basketcarrying shaft having a drive-transmitting upward extension passingthrough said tubular suspender, and shaft supporting means comprising anupward hollow extension of said shaft surrounding and engaging both ballbearing elements to afford lateral bearing support for the basket shaft,one of said radial bearing elements also forming an antifriction thrustbearing 7 for sustaining the axial thrust of the basket shaft.

6. In a suspended gyratory centrifugal, the Y combination of anon-rotating gyratory suspension sleeve mounted on a ball and socketjoint to gyrate against yielding centralizing resistance, a rotarybasket suspension shaft having an upward drive-transmitting exten- Tsion passing axially through said sleeve and having also a hollow upwardenlarged extension for rotatably supporting said basket shaft extendedupward outside said sleeve, upper and lower radial ball bearing elementsinterposed between said hollow shaft extension and said sleeve to affordlateral bearing support for the shaft, an annular cover detachablysecured to the upper end of said hollow extension to inwardly overhangthe upper .bearing element whereby releasing said cover allows the shaftto slip down said suspension sleeve and expose the ball bearingelements.

7. In a suspended gyratory centrifugal, the combination of anon-rotating gyratory suspension sleeve, upper and lower radial ballbearing elements surrounding said sleeve in fixed spaced relation, whilepermitting the removal of said bearing elements over the lower end ofthe sleeve, a rotary basket suspension shaft having an enlarged hollowupward extension surrounding both radial bearing elements for lateralsupport, means for detachably securing said upward extension to one ofsaid radial bearing elements to sustain the weight of the basket shaftthereon,

and drive-transmitting means secured to said basket shaft.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

EUGENE ROBERTS.

